Up to Chance
by Wetstar
Summary: Welcome to the Twenty-Fifth Annual Hunger Games and First Quarter Quell. This year our tributes were voted in, and we have twenty-four contestants for you to aid on their quest to become victor. Who will it be? Mica or Jaime, the orphans from Two and Twelve? Lisa or Amelia, injured but strong-willed? Cedar or Cissy, the inseparable pair from Seven? Or perhaps one of the others?
1. The Reaping

**Meet Yogurt! Don't make fun of his name. Okay, make fun of his name! ;) But you'll still probably love him!**

Trail and I walk to the reaping together, him trying to calm me down every step of the way. "Look, I know Sprice and all of them have been horrible to you for the past ten years, but they don't _hate _you. There's no way that they'll vote for you to die!"

"Trail, it would only take a few votes for me to go in. There's hundreds of kids that are eligible, and thousands, maybe millions, of people voting. Every kid's going to be voted for at least once. It's all up to chance."

"Exactly! It could be anyone!"

I sigh. He's not getting it. He doesn't understand that Sprice detests me with every fiber of his being, and that he's a sick person, sick enough to vote someone to death just because of their name. Forget about choosing the person who stands the best chance. Forget about choosing the person who can't work. Forget about choosing the person with no family to miss them. Forget about choosing the criminal who's going nowhere. He's choosing me. And his friends will do the same. Between the six of them, there's enough votes to send me to my death in the arena.

Trail's younger sister Ice runs over to us. Their parents and mine were friends when they were younger, as well as now, and thought it would be cool to name their kids after foods. Hence me being called Yogurt, and Trail and Ice having Mix and Cream as their middle names. Trail Mix Grennins and Ice Cream Grennins. Aren't our parents just great?

"Liberty Monre's there! Hurry up! You're going to be late!" Ice pants, out of breath from running over.

"So are you," Trail replies.

"Already signed in. Just need to get to my spot. C'mon!" She grabs her brother's hand and drags him towards the square, me running after them.

Once we're signed in, Trail and I take our spots among the sixteen year olds, and Ice joins the fourteen year olds.

Liberty steps up to the microphone and smiles around at us. "Hello District Three! Are you ready for the Twenty-fifth Hunger Games, the _very_ first Quarter Quell?"

One or two people applaud, but most of us stay quiet. She frowns at us, silently scolding us, before saying, "Now, as a reminder, this is what this year's Quell is all about!"

She unfolds the first of three papers that she's holding and reads aloud from it. "On the twenty-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that their children are dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district will hold an election and vote on the tributes that will represent it." Liberty smiles at us. It's her normal dumb smile, but after what she's just said, it feels like it's evil, and scheming. Hiding something. "You've voted for your tributes. And now you will hear who they are."

She flips to the second piece of paper and pulls off the tape holding it shut. "Lisa Dechanes!"

A small girl hobbles out of the twelve year old section. She has a twisted leg, and I can tell instantly why they voted for her. She can't work with an injury like that. She won't help the district much if she can't work. But to vote for a twelve year old... What kind of person does that?

Lisa's reached Liberty now, who smiles and congratulates her. "Aren't you proud, being the first ever tribute to represent your district in a Quell?"

It's a rhetorical question, and Lisa surprises us all when she responds with, "Not really." She scans us with sad brown eyes, probably wondering which of us were sick enough to do that to her. "I'm just disappointed that they wanted a life to end so young. I'm not the only injured one, and I'm definitely not useless."

Liberty looks taken aback, but recovers quickly. "Well, let's meet your district partner!" She unfolds the final slip. "Yogurt Matthews!"

No. No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening. Trail's staring at me, horrified that despite however much he tried to convince me otherwise, I'm still the one picked. I close my eyes for a second, trying to get a grip on my emotions. I can't look scared. I will not look scared. Once I've calmed down a bit, I head towards the stage.

Liberty looks relieved that I'm older than Lisa, as though she knows that two twelve year olds would be too much. I notice that she doesn't ask me if I'm proud though, just greets me with a quick smile.

"District Three, your tributes for the Twenty-fifth Annual Hunger Games; Lisa Dechanes and Yogurt Matthews! Shake hands you two!"

Lisa holds her hand out to me and I take it, giving it a quick reassuring squeeze. I'm not sure if it'll be possible, but I'd like to look after her if I could. It's not right that she was voted for.

**Sorry for the short chapter! I promise the chapters will start to get longer, especially once we get closer to the Games!**


	2. Saying goodbye

**Here's the next chapter! Kate: I WILL mention who he voted for. In a future chapter, since it didn't really fit in very well here... **

The door closes behind me and I walk over to the window, staring out at what will probably be my last look at District Three. It's dirty as always, the factories belching clouds of gray towards the sky. The streets are filled with families hugging one another, relieved that it wasn't their child who was voted in. Lucky bastards.

The door opens up again, and Mom and Dad rush in, pulling me into a hug instantly. Being an only child has made them extremely protective of me, and now that it looks like I'm about to die... Well, they're probably not going to manage the grief well.

We just stand there for a minute, holding on to each other. Mom's the first one to pull back, tears in her eyes. "Why? Why would _anyone_ want you dead?"

"You know how Sprice is. He's had it out for me since we met." I remind her.

"But enough that he would vote for you to _die_?" She still sounds unsure.

I shrug. "He's a bully. You never know what they're willing to do."

"Just try to win and come home, alright Yogurt?" Dad says.

"Of course I will." I say, nodding.

They hug me tightly for another minute or so, murmuring their support. I try to memorize what being held by them feels like, so I can think back to it during the Games. Too soon, the Peacekeeper is knocking on the door, telling us that our time's up. Mom hugs me tightly one last time, and Dad puts his hand on my shoulder. "Good luck sport."

I nod and Mom lets go. "We love you."

"I love you too." I swallow hard, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.

They leave the room and the door closes shut again. It doesn't stay closed for long though, before Trail and Ice come rushing in. Ice immediately throws her arms around my waist, while Trail hangs back slightly, not too big on hugs. Ice is sobbing. "Please Yogurt! You have to win! I don't want to lose you!"

I hug her back. "Shh, don't worry Ice. I'm not going to die."

She fixes her eyes on my face, bloodshot from crying. In a very serious voice she states, "You think. But it's terrible! Even the Careers die, and- and- and-" She starts hyperventilating, and Trail puts his hands on her shoulders, reminding her in a soft murmur to breathe. As she tries to calm herself down, he raises his eyes to look at me. They aren't bloodshot like Ice's, but I can still see the sadness in them. "Win. Just win and come home, okay?"

"I'll try. It's just..."

"Just nothing, Yogurt. You have to win. You _have to._"

"But I don't know if I can kill people!"

"You'll be taught how."

"You know that's not what I meant."

The sadness in his eyes deepens. "I know. But you have to try."

I nod. "I will."

"Good." Trail nods at my wrist. "You should use the bracelet as your token."

I glance down at the bracelet around my wrist. A bit of rope with a small metal plaque on it, one side that reads _Yogurt_, the other reading _Matthews_. Trail has one almost identical, except his reads _Trail _and _Grennins._ We made them for each other for our fifteenth birthdays. We were working on one for Ice, since her birthday is in two weeks. The _Ice _side is complete, but the _Grennins _side only has _Gre. _I hope Trail finishes it on his own if I don't come back. "Yeah, I will. It'll remind me what to fight to come home to."

"You will fight, won't you?" Ice blinks huge dark blue eyes up at me. It's funny. She and Trail look nothing like siblings, but exactly like their first names. Ice with dark blue water eyes and icy blonde hair. Trail with dark brown eyes and hair like the dirt that lines a trail. You never would guess unless you saw how close they are.

"Of course I will."

The door swings open again and the Peacekeeper gestures both of them out. Ice reluctantly lets go of me. They both say a quick goodbye and then they're gone. I might never see them again.

I sit on the sofa for the next five minutes, listening to the quiet murmur of voices in the next room. Lisa must be finishing up her last visit. The murmurs stop, and the Peacekeeper opens the door again. "Time to go."

I follow him into the hallway and join Lisa there. Together we follow him to the lobby of the Justice Building, where Liberty is waiting for us. She leads us outside again, through the crowd to the car that will take us to the train station, where we'll board the train that will take us to our deaths and meet our mentors, Chip Bradley, victor of the Eighteenth Hunger Games, and Avram Novak, victor of the Tenth Hunger Games. For a minute I consider running for it. But I know that would be the act of a coward. All I can do is stay brave and accept my fate.


	3. The Tributes

**Oh, did I mention? This story's going to have multiple POVs. Here are the tributes as a whole. **

All around Panem, citizens watch as their voted tributes walk on stage.

In District One, Tawney Dwight waves at the crowd, pleased that they thought she was the best of her age group. The eighteen year olds were the only ones people really considered, anyways. Who cares about the younger kids? Her district partner, a fellow eighteen year old Career named Space Kershman just looked bored. His district cheered even louder at that, pleased that he seems to have deemed the Games beneath him.

In District Two, Mica Stone glances at her trainers for reassurance. Orphaned since the age of seven, they were the only real parents she had ever known, having been transferred from foster home to foster home, never staying long enough to think of the people there as her parents. They look so proud now, and she's determined to come home to them. Beside her, Marcus Harding sneers at the rest of the male Careers, rubbing it in their faces that he had been chosen when they hadn't.

In District Three, Lisa Dechanes shocks her district by speaking up against them and keeping a strong face, despite only being twelve. Yogurt Matthews, her district partner, seems to pity her, but keeps the same strong face, despite not looking like he has a good chance.

In District Four, Zoe Carp smiles at her district, standing tall and proud, making sure that they won't forget her easily. They'll be watching out for her in the arena. Just before she and her district partner are lead into the Justice Building, she looks directly at one of the cameras and winks, making sure the Capitol citizens remember her as well. Andrew Storm, on the other hand, doesn't put on a show. He simply walks to the stage and shakes Zoe's hand, walking into the Justice Building calmly. He'll make the Capitol remember him in training. That's what really matters, in his opinion. Being able to fight and kill.

In District Five, Austin Black groans over his terrible luck again. Though he shouldn't really be all that surprised. Who would want a kid who trips over his own feet working in a factory that supplies power to the entire country? He never thought his luck would get him sentenced to death though. Emma Laughlin just looks like she wants to cuss out the entire district. Unpopular at school due to her bitchiness, the majority of her votes came from her classmates.

In District Six, Arthur "Art" Flyer curses his intelligence. Knowing everything comes in handy in factories where you have to build cars and hovercrafts, but not when people are trying to figure out who to send into a fight to the death. They probably thought he would be able to figure a strategy to make it out. Maybe he could. His district partner Amelia Post just glares angrily at her right arm. Or what was left of it at least. A factory accident a year ago had cut it off elbow down, leaving her only the top half and a passion for improving the factories' safety standards. Not that there were any to begin with. She calls herself an activist, determined even when the Peacekeepers throw her in jail for a few days. Not even after that time she was whipped, did she ever consider stopping.

In District Seven, Cedar Point and Cecelia "Cissy" Blackwood stare at each other in horror. Best friends since they were children- or rather, smaller children, since eighteen should still be considered childhood- they never thought they would wind up in this situation; about to go into a fight to the death that only one of them can survive. Even if one were to win, they would have to deal with the loss of their best friend as well as the horrors of being a victor of the Hunger Games. And it's not very likely that even that will happen. Most likely, they'll both die in the bloodbath. Their district, on the other hand, hopes beyond hope that they'll make it to the finale. They know they'll have each other's back- that's why they voted for them, they knew they would look out for each other. Now it's just a matter of them hiding from the Careers and keeping each other alive until the end.

In District Eight, Raymont "Ray" Pyle is horrified when he realises why he was voted for. They finally figured it out. They know why his single father makes so much money but Ray look so poorly fed. They know that his father spends it all on alcohol. They know he forgets to give Ray money for food most days. All he can do is stand there in horror. His district partner Madison "Maddy" Tweed gives him a sympathetic look as he joins her on stage. She was voted for because she's fast, faster than all the other girls at her school. She'll be able to get to the Cornucopia and back out again in no time.

In District Nine, they just voted for two poor kids who weren't going anywhere in life, bound to end up working in the fields just like anyone else. They were nothing remarkable to the district. Ryan "Ry" Miller and Jasmine Granger exchange panicked looks as they shake hands. Familiar with each other from seeing each other around the neighbourhood, they know exactly what's going through the other person's head right now. _Why did they choose me? Why not someone else?_

In District Ten, Harry Sheppard is cursing his decision to take the job. He needed it, yes, his family was starving. He had to. But being a hooker alienated him from the rest of the kids at his school, most of whom thought he was either a freak or a sex craved lunatic- or both- which of course lead them to vote for him. Who else would they vote for? Their friends? Harry didn't think so. Caroline Lavache just seems confused, as if she couldn't figure out why they would vote for her. She must just have been the first person everyone thought of, she figures. In reality, Caroline's just big and dumb and just the slightest bit of a bully.

In District Eleven, Joe McDonald blinks back his tears. It was all his mother's fault. If she wasn't such a snob when people came to her office asking for help, maybe they wouldn't have voted for him. But she had to rub their wealth in their starving district's faces. Who else but the mayor's son would you vote for if the mayor's a bitch? His district partner, Blossam Collins, is willowy and beautiful and the first person people notice when they walk into a room. She was the first person to pop into so many people's minds, leading to her walking onto that stage at the reaping.

In District Twelve, Cole Mynor keeps his head up and reminds himself why they choose him. He's strong. He can do this. He can win. He can make it out. They_ believe_ in him. Beside him, Jaime Star stands as tall as she can, still appearing short compared to her giant of a district partner. The thirteen year old has been orphaned since the age of eight, and prefers to live on the street of steal loaves of bread or chunks of cheese instead of going to the orphanage. The district figures it better to send an orphan who has no one than someone who has family and friends to miss them.

In the Capitol, they know nothing of the tributes' pasts. They'll learn all that in the interviews. For now, they focus on the physical components of them; how strong they are, how they compose themselves. The little things. Before long, the tributes will be training, and then they'll get to see what a Quarter Quell arena is like.

**Next chapter will be on the train. And how do you guys feel about a sponsor system? **


	4. Train I

**Space's POV**

Tawney spins around happily, her reaping dress swirling around her. "Isn't this amazing Space?! We're going into the Hunger Games!"

I sit down in one of the chairs. Despite being a Career and having trained for the same length of time as her, I don't feel the same enthusiasm as Tawney does about the Games. In fact, I haven't been feeling very enthusiastic at all lately. "Yeah, great."

Tawney doesn't notice my bland tone. She just continues spinning. "We're going to get allies, and kill, and win, and have riches for the rest of our life!"

"One of us will. Besides, who needs to become a victor to have riches?"

She kicks my shin. "Maybe _you _don't! Your parents are the richest in the district! Except for the victors, of course."

"You realise you're wearing heels right?" I pull up my pant leg. There's a bit of blood, but not much. "Great."

"Space!"

I look up at her. Her arms are crossed and she looks annoyed. "What?"

"Are you even going to _try?_"

"I am trying! In case you haven't noticed, we only just got on the train."

Tawney huffs and throws herself down in another chair. They're unbelievably soft, and I can feel my eyes closing. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in forever. Maybe I'll just take a quick nap...

I'm woken up by Tawney sitting down in my lap. "He's just bored. He's always bored."

Ugh, doesn't she understand? I'm not bored, I just don't want to do anything! I shove her out of my lap anyways. She falls to the ground and laughs, which isn't the reaction I was expecting. I was expecting more along the lines of another heel to my leg. Seriously, those things are dangerous.

Tawney gets up again and sits down in the chair beside me. Sitting across from us are Satin Marks and Tulle Switzer. Satin nods at Tawney. "I'm going to be your mentor, Tulle's going to be Space's. That good with you two?"

I shrug and Tawney nods. "That sounds amazing!" She jumps to her feet, somehow managing to stay upright in overly pointed, six inch heels. "How about we go into the next car, so we won't disturb Space and Tulle?" She sends me a wink. I'm not sure how to interpret that.

Satin nods and gets to her feet. "Sounds good." She leaves with Tawney to the next car, leaving me alone with Tulle.

My mentor examines me silently for a minute before getting up and walking over to the counter next to the window filled with alcohol. "So what are you good at?"

"Uh... I don't know."

"Well that's useful. I'm supposed to get you home. How am I supposed to get you home if I don't know what you're good at?" She pours herself a drink.

"Um, I don't know."

She turns around and half stares, half glares at me. I fidget slightly under her intense gaze. "Well, you're useful."

I swallow hard, trying to get my mouth to work. "S-Sorry."

"Speech problem?"

"Huh?"

"Well you can barely talk." She throws herself back down in the chair, far from the graceful girl she was in her Games. "I figured there was a reason. Is that why you were voted in?"

"Um, uh, no. I was uh, voted in because I ah, stand a good chance."

"That's for sure. You're strong, fit. You could win if you _TOLD ME WHAT YOU'RE GOOD AT!" _she roars.

I close my eyes, wincing internally and externally. "S-Sorry. I guess I'm good at... Spears? I dunno..."

"Now we're getting somewhere! Spears! Anything else? What about surviving? Could you actually manage to, I don't know, survive past the bloodbath?!"

"I dunno... I guess. I can kind of light fires. And I'm decent with a rope. I know how to heal wounds."

Tulle throws her hands up, splashing her drink everywhere. "There we go!" She lowers her arms again, taking a quick sip. "I can survive working with you."

**Mica's POV**

I watch District Two fade away from my sight as the train goes speeding upwards into the mountains. Marcus didn't bother watching it go, confident in his chance at victor, but I'm not as sure that I'll be coming back. Tomi and Leandro seemed to have confidence in me when they came to say goodbye, but I'm not so sure... Besides, they're practically my parents, they have to say that I'm going to come back.

Marcus looks over at me. "Are you sitting down Squirt, or are you going to stand there forever, mooning over your parents' deaths?"

I resist the urge to punch him, instead opting for the smarter choice of just sitting down quietly. _Squirt. _The name should be affectionate, used by older siblings or friends' siblings. Instead, it's used by the other trainees as a hostile term, referring to my small size. It's going to be used a lot more soon, since most of the Careers will be eighteen. I'm only sixteen, and I know they only voted for me because no one will miss me except for Tomi, Leandro, and the rest of the trainers, but even they will get over it.

The door to the next car slides open and Lyla Kild walks in, followed by Pollux Hamelin. Lyla hauls Marcus to his feet roughly and shoves him at Pollux. "Next car. Now."

Marcus looks highly offended, but Pollux just puts a hand on his shoulder and guides him to the next car. Once the car slides closed behind them, Lyla spins around to face me, blonde curls bouncing around her face.

"You're Mica Stone. Orphaned when you were seven, you grew up in foster homes. You were close to your trainers, who kept close tabs on you. You're sixteen now. You like to use axes, and you can kill with an accuracy in both light and dark settings." She sits down, her arms outstretched. "How'd I do?"

I'm surprised. How'd she know all that? I'm just a nobody...

"Actually, most people have quite an interest in you. I heard the Capitol was thinking of making you a Peacekeeper once you turned eighteen."

Oh. I said that out loud. I shift in my seat. "Well... I'm definitely not as impressive as Marcus, and probably not as impressive as most of the other Careers this year."

She shrugs. "You're small, yes, but you're also smart. And you're fast. And age rarely determines a win. Most tributes fifteen and older stand a good chance, Career or not."

"But..."

"Are you forgetting how old I was when I won?"

"Sixteen..." I mutter.

"The same age as you. So you can win, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now strategy. What are you thinking of?"

I shrug. "I don't know yet. I haven't really thought about it much yet. I'll probably just stay with the rest of the Careers until we split or it gets to the final eight. Or too dangerous to stay with them. Whichever comes first."

Lyla nods. "Okay, good. Good start. We can expand it a bit more for what you'll do after you leave them and such, but that's a good start. A very good start."

"So you think I could make it home?"

"It all depends on how well you do in training, but yes, it sounds like you stand a good chance."

I grin. I could do it. I could see Tomi and Leandro again.

**Lisa's POV**

I follow Yogurt onto the train, trying to limp as little as possible. As far as I know, all of this could be being televised to the Capitol citizens, so I have to show as little weakness as possible. I probably already have a target on my back for speaking out against them at the reaping. Oh well. They'll be rid of me soon. As the only- well, most likely only, how many people would vote for someone so young?- twelve year old in the Games, I'll be labeled as an easy target, especially with my twisted leg. This is going to suck...

Yogurt sits down in one of the chairs and watches me as I sit down in the chair beside him. It's like he thinks I'm about to break. I may have a twisted leg, but I'm not china. "Who did you vote for?"

He shrugs. "A couple of eighteen year olds that I thought would do well. Norman Ferguson and Jia Samulack."

I nod. They would have done well. Much better than we're going to do, at least. No offense to Yogurt, but he's kind of... scrawny. No match for a Career. "I voted for Stephanie Kify and Ian McNicoll."

He shakes his head. "Never heard of them."

"They were a couple of seventeen year olds who harassed me about my leg. They probably voted for me, so I figured, "Why not vote for them as well?""

He shrugs. "I guess so. I would've done the same, except Sprice would've killed me if he found out."

"Sprice? Sprice Axelson? He's an ass. He was my second choice to vote for."

"Yeah, he really is an- Did you just swear?!"

I shrug. "I'm in school. You hear swear words at school."

He sighs. "That's just sad..."

I'm about to retort when the door slides open and Avram Novak and Chip Bradley walk in. "Chip, do you want Yogurt and I'll take Lisa?" Avram asks. The younger victor nods and sits down across from Yogurt. I stand up and follow Avram into the next car.

He sits down and fixes his green eyes on me. "Are you scared?"

"Yes." I might as well be honest.

"Don't be. I'm going to get you out of here."

"But I'm only twelve. Twelve year olds never win. Especially not injured ones from District Three."

"We'll just have to change that then, won't we?"

"Do you really think we could?"

"Maybe. What are you good at?"

"Not much. I can't run. I'm terrible at lighting fires. I could _maybe _learn how to tie knots and stuff. I could probably learn throwing knives, or something that you don't have to move much for, but... I dunno. I don't think I can do this! I wanna be brave and strong but I _can't!" _I stare down at my lap, blinking back tears.

Avram puts his hand on my shoulder. "Lisa? Lisa, listen to me. I'm going to get you home, okay? You just have to do what I tell you, alright? Do you think you could do that?"

I nod and wipe the tears out of my eyes. "Yeah. I think so. I could try."

He smiles. "Good. That's all you need to do. Try."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Exactly what you said. Try and find something like throwing knives that you don't have to move too much to use. I would suggest learning spears as well, but those are heavy and you can't carry as many at once. I also want you to learn how to tie knots, and spend a bit of time at the fire lighting station. Maybe with a bit of practise, you could get a bit better. And once you get into the Games, run only a little ways to the Cornucopia, grab a pack, and maybe a knife if you can grab one that's not too far in, and get out of there as quickly as possible. Find somewhere to hide and stay there. Don't go looking for the others. Let them come to you. Think you can do that?"

I nod. "It sounds simple enough."

"In theory. All you have to do now is train and then be ready to actually do it."

**Zoe's POV**

Andrew watches at me from the seat opposite. "You're the girl who just had the kid, right?"

I sigh and roll my eyes. "No, _Audrey _had the kid." People always get us mixed up. Makes sense though. I mean, we _are _twins.

"Right, sorry. Hard to tell with identical twins, y'know?"

"I know, I know. I've been told that since Day 1, I've gotten the point by now."

"You seemed a lot more cheerful around the cameras."

I roll my eyes again. Doesn't this idiot understand what an_ act_ is? Honestly, the Games are _completely _about acting. If you can't act, you stand _no _chance. You need sponsors to win, and to _get_ sponsors, you have to be willing to act a little. Smile, wink, flirt with Lionel Reed- though I hear they're training a new, younger host to replace him, so it might be someone else, get into the Games and charm the rest of the Careers to do what you want(no, not just the boys, I can charm the girls as well, probably _easily_), kill a couple of people, go home. Easiest thing ever. I don't even get what the big fuss is. _Anyone _could win the Games.

Andrew scowls. "You don't have to give off so much attitude. If you do that around the rest of the Careers, they'll kill you on Day 1."

I sit down in his lap. "Yeah, but I'm lovable, don't you think?"

"Or just a whore."

I kiss his neck. "Please. You like it."

"No, I think you just want to get in everybody's pants."

"I'm not a whore. Or a prostitute. I'm not_ that_ low."

"Just about." He tries to squirm away from me, but the chair's got him blocked on three sides and I've got him blocked on the fourth.

I give him my big eyes. "C'mon Andrew, don't you want to have fun?"

"Not with you." He tries shoving me out of his lap.

"Why not? I'm pretty and willing. Somehow I doubt you have many other girls willing."

"I don't like girls."

My mouth drops open and my arms fall from around his neck. A second later I fall onto the floor. Ignoring the pain in my ass- both Andrew and the literal one- I stare up at him, trying to find the words to describe how I'm feeling right now. "You're _gay?!_" seems to be the best I can come up with.

Andrew rolls his eyes. "Yes, I'm gay, I like guys. Are you going to leave me alone now?"

I stand up and lean over him, putting my hands on the arms of his chair. "How do I know you're not just saying that because you don't know what you want?"

He shoves me away from him, knocking me into a table. I grip it tightly, trying to keep myself from falling over. "You're an ass, you know that?" he says, glaring at me before storming away through the sliding door to the next car.

The door's just sliding shut behind him when Nthanda and Sea walk in. The oldest and newest victors. I guess Nthanda told Mags that she would take care of the new ones.

"Where's Andrew?" Sea asks.

"He went through there," I say, waving my hand at the door Andrew went through a few seconds ago. He moves to follow him, so I add, "But I wouldn't suggest following him. He might rape you."

Sea glares at me. "Asshole."

"What, are you his boyfriend or something?" I sneer.

He moves to grab something from his belt but Nthanda puts a hand on his arm, stopping him. He seems to think that she's right in stopping him, because he just snarls, "He's my friend, okay?" before spinning around and going through the door after Andrew.

Nthanda sighs. "Please tell me this won't happen often."

I shrug. "Keep the fag away from me, and we're good."

She seems to wrestle with her emotions for a minute before sitting down and pulling out a piece of paper. "Let's get started then."

**Austin's POV**

I stumble into the train car and sit down in the first chair I see. I don't want to touch anything. With my luck, it'll probably break. Emma throws herself into another chair, slinging her legs up over the arm. "So Austin, what are you here for? And how old are you, anyways? You look, like, twelve."

"I'm fifteen, thanks."

"Really?! Well you look twelve. And don't avoid the question."

"I, uh... Have really bad luck."

Emma bursts out laughing. I stare down at my shoes. They're a pale brownish colour, and pretty worn out from wearing them to every reaping as well as any other special event I have to go to. Which could be anything from my little sister Abigail's ninth birthday party, to the party in the square when the mayor's daughter Reese was born.

She finally finishes laughing. "Oh. My. God. Are you serious?!" She takes my silence as a yes. "You're serious! Oh my God, you're such a freak!"

"Yeah, I've heard that before," I mutter.

She starts laughing again, so I get up and walk towards the window. Or try to, at least. Somehow I manage to trip over the edge of the carpet on the way over, knocking over a bowl of fruit, sending the apples and oranges rolling across the floor and bruising the bananas. Emma laughs even harder. "Oh my God, you really do!"

I lift start to lift myself up off the ground, groaning, but only get my torso up before I see the two woman standing in the doorway. Ani Richards and Kalina Lavender. They saw the whole thing. The victors of the Thirteenth and First Hunger Games saw me fall flat on my face. _THE FIRST EVER VICTOR SAW ME FALL ON MY FACE. _

Emma's still laughing her head off and Ani comes over and helps me up. I wince. "Thanks."

She signs something quickly with her hands. Probably a "You're an idiot." Great. The Thirteenth victor thinks I'm a moron.

Kalina looks between Emma and I. "Who do you guys want?"

Emma sneers at Ani. "I don't want _her. _She's mute."

A look of hurt flashes across Ani's face and I want to scream at Emma that just because she's mute, doesn't mean she can't _hear. _"That works out well then. I wanted Ani."

She smiles up at me and I towards the next car, looking over my shoulder as I walk and talk. "C'mon Ani!" A second later I collide with the door, sending me to the ground again.

I stare up at the ceiling, stars spinning around my head. In the background, I can hear Emma laughing again. "The moron can't even make an automatic door work!" Hands help me up though, and when the world stops spinning, I can see Kalina and Ani watching me in concern.

"I'm... I'm fine..." I say. "Just... Just a bump..."

Kalina nods shortly. "Right. Ani, take Austin into the next car. If he starts throwing up, he probably has a concussion."

Ani nods quickly and leads me into the next car. Once there, she lies me down on the sofa.

"I'm fine, really..."

She shakes her head and writes on a piece of paper. _I'm not taking any chances with my tribute. _

"Well, okay then..."

A few written questions and spoken answers later, Ani knows what I'm good at- running(sometimes) and climbing(sometimes)- and what I'm bad at- almost everything else. She thinks I'm mostly just clumsy, and thinks that we can probably fix that in time for the Games.

I hope that's possible. Otherwise I'm a dead man. Boy. Otherwise I'm a dead boy.

**Amelia's POV**

Art paces around the compartment. "This is terrible, this is terrible, this is terrible!"

"Art, relax. You're smart, you can win."

"But I can't _kill! _Brains don't kill, swords do!"

"You're going to give yourself a panic attack."

"I DON'T CARE!" Art collapses in one of the chairs, breathing quickly, his eyes wide.

I sigh and walk over to a tray with glasses and a jar of water. I lift a glass off the top of one of the piles- it's stacked upside down, thankfully, since having them stacked right side up makes it a pain in the ass to remove a glass- and set it down on the tray before grabbing the jar and pouring water into the glass. It's a little heavy, but a year of having only one usable arm has made my remaining arm strong and I set the jar back down again without spilling any water.

Art gratefully accepts the water. "Thanks Amelia." He downs it in one go.

"Listen to me, okay Art? You're gonna do just fine."

"If he makes it out of the bloodbath," a voice behind me says. I turn around to face Phoebe Gibbson, the only victor District Six has had so far.

"He's going to. He's Art, of course he will."

She laughs. "Girl, Six's tributes _never_ make it out. They haven't in five years."

"You did."

"Didn't you hear me? Five years. I was twenty years ago. Maybe you should use those pretty little ears for hearing, hmm?"

I scowl at her. "You could at least try and reassure him."

"Why so worried? He your boyfriend?"

I feel my ears go red and am thankful that my hair covers it. "No! Just my friend. Who I want to win."

"Don't _you _want to win?"

"Yes. But Art's freaking out, so the least you could do is reassure him, you bitch!"

Phoebe shrugs. "Now I don't want to help you at all." She turns and walks out. "Hope to not see you later!"

I scowl and kneel down in front of Art, even though I know I'll have trouble standing again later. "Just ignore her. You're going to do just fine. I just know it."

**Guess what this story has? A sponsor system! I got the idea from HogwartsDreamer113 and CelticGames4. Check out their stories, they're both amazing writers! **

**Here's how you get points:**

**Reviewing- 5 points**

**A long review with constructive criticism and good feedback- Additional 5 points**

**Favourite- 4 points**

**Follow- 2 points**

**Review another one of my stories- 10 points/story**

**Answer the chapter question- 7 points**

**Join and stay on my RP forum(PM for details)- 15 points(if you're already there, I gave you 10 points)**

**Here's what you can use the points for:**

**Batteries- 3 points**

**Full water bottle- 5 points**

**Bandages- 5 points**

**Dried fruit, Crackers, Beef jerky- 7 points**

**Matches- 8 points**

**Rope- 10 points**

**Blanket- 10 points**

**Compass- 10 points**

**Soup/broth- 15 points**

**Flashlight- 15 points**

**Any form of clothing- 15 points**

**Night vision goggles- 20 points**

**Water purifying kit- 20 points**

**Sleeping bag- 20 points**

**Knife- 20 points**

**First Aid Kit- 25 points**

**Medicine(burn, cold, etc.)- 35 points**

**Weapon of Choice- 50 points**

**And here's how many each person has so far:**

**Celtic- 31 points**

**Dreamer: 25 points**

**Kate: 20 points**

**Mex: 21 points**

**iWolfy: 14 points**

**Dolphin4444wssc- 6 points**

**This chapter's question(no right or wrong answers, it's mostly just for feedback or to see what you guys want to see next): Who are your favourite tributes so far?**


	5. Train II

**Cissy's POV**

"What do we do?!" I wail. Cedar's sitting in the chair beside me, gently rubbing my back in a desperate attempt to calm me down.

"We have to be allies, that's the first thing we have to do," he says.

I nod, sniffling. "But I don't want to watch you die!"

"And I don't want to watch you die. But _one_ of us has to go home, okay?"

"B-But-"

"No buts," Cedar says sternly. "I'm getting you home even if it kills me." He realises what he said a second after he says it. "I meant as a, y'know, expression sort of thing."

I hiccup. "But it really will kill you!"

"Yes, but I'm ready for that to happen if it'll get you home. You're my best friend, Cissy. I don't want you to die."

"But what if I don't want you to die either?"

"Then we make it as far as we can together. If we make it to the end then we... I dunno, flip a coin?"

I laugh slightly at the mental image of the last two tributes flipping a coin to decide who wins. It's definitely not something that's happened in the Games before. Cedar smiles.

"See? It'll be okay. We'll get through it."

"Together?"

"Together."

The door slides open and Arlene Arlesci walks in. She smiles at us. "Cedar and Cecelia, right?"

I nod. "You can just call me Cissy though."

"And you can call me Arlie. Everyone else does."

"Nice to meet you," Cedar says.

Arlie sits down in the chair opposite us. "Let's start with the basics. Do you know why you're here?"

I try not to start crying again. "I don't know! We've been best friends since we were babies, and neither of us has any mental or physical problems! And as far as I know, we don't have very many worst enemies that would have told them to vote for us!"

"Ah. A package deal."

Cedar nods. "That's what they always called us."

"They probably figured you would be looking out for each other. District Seven is tough, but they're logical." I know that for sure. People who learn how to swing an axe around when they're nine generally have a no nonsense attitude- with a few exceptions of course, one of them being me- but they're also smart, logical, and care deeply about the other people around them. I mean, a nine year old with an axe? You wouldn't give the axe to them unless you were sure they wouldn't send it into someone else's head by mistake- smart, logical. And years of working in dangerous conditions make you care about your neighbours.

"I take it you'll be allies then?" Arlie continues.

"Of course!" We both say at the same time.

"Right. And you're good at axes?" Cedar nods.

"I've been in the forests since I was ten. Cissy came in a year later, but that's still seven years of working for her."

"Why did you start late?" Arlie asks me.

"I didn't. I'm just a year younger than him. He's eighteen, I'm seventeen," I explain.

"Okay, good. That gives you guys eight or nine years of handling axes each, and seven or eight years of using them on trees. Believe it or not, trees are good practise," she pales slightly as she says the last sentence. Of course. She was deadly with her axe in her Games.

"So we grab axes and packs and get out of the arena?" Cedar asks.

Arlie nods. I swallow hard. "It's a plan."

**Ray's POV**

I avoid Maddy's eyes as I sit across from her on the train. They're filled with pity, knowing full well that I'm here purely because of my father's neglect. "So why are you here?"

She shrugs. "I'm fast. I can run. Why wouldn't I be here? They would vote in people who stand a good chance."

"Or me..." I mutter.

"I'm sorry."

I shrug. "It's fine. I always knew he was a bad father. Just never thought it would get me killed."

"You're going to try though, right? I mean, you're not just going to give up, right?"

"Of course I'm going to try! I don't want to die! I'm only fifteen! I'm too young to die!"

"Sixteen isn't much better..." I hear her mutter.

There's a swishing noise behind me and a voice exclaims "Hi there!"

I look over my shoulder at the young man standing in the doorway with a grin on his face. I don't know why he's so happy. We don't exactly stand a chance.

He walks in and sits down in the chair beside me. "Raymont and Madison, right?"

"Maddy, please," the girl in question says.

"Right! Do you have something you'd rather be called?" he asks me.

"Um, Ray, please."

"Right! Ray and Maddy! I'm Woof, but you probably already know that," he flinches slightly and bites his lower lip. A few seconds later, he continues with "What's your strategy? Are you going to be allies, or are you going to work alone?"

"Work alone," Maddy says right away, not even giving me the chance to consider if I'd want her as my ally in the arena or not. "I don't want to get attached, much less have to worry about someone else's safety as well as my own."

"Alright. And is that okay with you, Ray?"

I nod. "I can look after myself."

"Yeah, the whole district's aware of _that_," Maddy mutters under her breath. I try not to flinch. Woof ignores her, continuing on with his questions, keeping the same upbeat tone as if he doesn't even notice the jab.

"Since I'm sure you won't use each other's strategies against each other, and since there's only one of me-" another flinch "-I think we can just plan all together. Maddy, what are you good at?"

"I'm fast. I can run for long distances at high speeds for a long time. Other than that... I guess I could climb? And maybe I could identify edible plants. I'm a quick learner."

He nods. "Right. Fast, climb, plants. We can work with that. How about you, Ray?"

I shrug. "I can find food for myself. I can hunt a bit, but not much. I've never gone very far past the fence," I glance nervously at a nearby Avox, but they don't seem to be paying attention. Good. "And I could probably learn weapons. I'm already good at knives, and I finished making a bow and arrows not that long ago. I've been okay with it so far."

Woof nods again. "Hunting, bit of weapon skills. Good, good." He beams at us. "I dunno about you two, but I think we stand a pretty good chance. Bit of training, and you two could be victor material."

**Jasmine's POV**

Ry's shaking like it's nobody's business. He's seventeen- a year older than me- but he looks absolutely terrified. "What are we gonna do Jasmine?! We're gonna die!"

"Ry, calm down. We can figure something out, I know we can!"

"We don't even have a mentor!" He collapses in the second chair and buries his face in his hands. I put my arm around his shaking shoulders.

"Ry, it'll be okay. We can figure something out on our own."

He straightens up and wipes the tears from his eyes. "Right. On our own. As always. Right."

"First things first; do we want to be an alliance?"

He stares at me with desperate brown eyes. "Please say yes. I don't want to do this on my own."

"Yes, of course," I say it as gently as I can, nodding slightly. "What about skills? What can you do?"

"Not much. I... I don't know, I'm fast maybe? I'm quiet, so I could hide. I don't know, not much."

I nod. "Right. We can do this, okay? We can win this."

"There's only one winner, Jasmine."

"I know, but... It's going to be you. I'll make sure of it."

He laughs, but it comes out sounding a little like a sob. "I'm the one who's supposed to say that to you!"

"Yeah, but now I'm saying it to you. And you'd better win, Ryan Miller, or I will... I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be pretty badass, I'll tell you that."

He laugh-sobs again and hugs me. "If I make it out of here, I'm gonna owe you big time."

I smile and hug him back. "Yeah, maybe you could get Chuck to finally take me on that date he promised."

His mouth twitches slightly, up and down again in rapid succession. "Yeah, maybe."

"For now, I believe we are in need of food." I stand up and hold out my hand to him. "Ryan, would you care to accompany me to the table where our food awaits?"

"Only if you stop calling me Ryan and start calling me Ry again," he smiles and for the first time since the reaping, there's no trace of sadness in it.

I mock bow. "As you wish."

"You're supposed to curtsy."

"Nah, the girl curtsies."

"Hey!" He reaches out to playfully shove me but I laugh and skip out of his reach and over towards the table.

"C'mon Ry, there's food to be eaten!"

**Harry's POV**

I pace the car as Caroline stuffs her face at the table. Our mentor still hasn't shown up yet. I need to talk to him _desperately. _I don't care about the Games at this point, I just need to know how to save face during the interviews. I need to know if they'll ask what I do in free time, how I make extra money, etc. I need to know if they'll find out that I sell myself. I need to know how much damage that'll do.

The door to the car slides open and a thirty-six year old man with messy black hair comes stumbling in. "Sorry, sorry, sorry I'm late!" he says, sitting down at the table where Caroline's already sitting. I walk over to join them.

The man looks up at me. "You must be Harry, right?" I nod. "And you're Caroline?" The girl in question just grunts. "Right. Okay. Let's get started."

He moves a few plates of food out of the way before rummaging through his coat's pockets. He pulls out a tightly folded piece of paper. "What is that?" I ask.

He smiles at me as he unfolds it. "It's my instructions."

"Instructions? Instructions from who?"

He ignores my question and starts reading. "Hello tributes. My name is Axel Crewe. As you may know, I won the Seventh Annual Hunger Games. And now I have to help you win your Games. There are many things you need to know before you enter the arena."

"That's nice, but I was wondering if you could-"

"First off," Axel continues, neither stopping nor acknowledging that he had heard me, "you will need to know where and how to find shelter. This all depends on what sort of arena you're in."

"Could you maybe-"

"If you are in a desert, I suggest you find somewhere shady, though shade is unlikely. If there is no shade, find somewhere you can see no one. One advantage of a desert is that you can see your competitors coming. Oh, and if you have a sword on hand, cut open a cactus to find water."

"Hey, do you think you could listen to me for a minute?" I try again. Axel continues to ignore me. He doesn't even look up to see if Caroline and I are listening.

"If you are in a mountain arena, find a cave that doesn't have a bear in it. If it has a bear in it, kill the bear and claim the cave as your own. If you can't kill the bear, run. Don't climb a tree because most bears are very good climbers."

I turn to Caroline. "Can you believe this guy?!"

She shrugs. "I don't really care. I'm not going to win anyways, so why should I care about anything besides keeping my stomach as full as possible until then?"

"Wow, you really have no belief in yourself, do you?"

She shrugs again. "I really don't care about the Games. What happens in them happens. I can't change it."

"So you aren't going to try?"

Caroline scoffs. "I meant I'm not going to piss myself trying to learn how to build a shelter out of moss only to die in the bloodbath."

I roll my eyes and turn back to Axel. He's finished his speech on shelter and has moved onto finding food without appearing to have noticed that we had both stopped listening.

"If you have a knife on hand, throw the knife at the animal's chest or head. Once it is dead, carefully skin it using the technique I am showing you with my right hand and remove all the skin and fur from its body. Once you have done that, carefully roast it over a small fire. Do not create a large fire, since those will produce smoke and get you noticed, but a small fire should be ideal for roasting small creatures for your next meal."

"I was wondering if you could help with-" I try and fail again as Axel continues without acknowledging that I spoke.

"If you can find a berry bush, make sure that the berries aren't poisonous before you eat them. You'll have to pay close attention during training for that. Don't just think 'Bright berries are poisonous and darker coloured berries are safe.' Sometimes it can be the opposite."

I sigh and rest my head in my hands. The paper's pretty long and Axel doesn't seem to be planning on stopping anytime soon.

**Joe's POV**

I watch Blossam run her finger over the books on the shelf in the corner of the car. "Are you sure you're allowed to touch those?"

"They're in here with us, we probably can," she says. "Besides, isn't that what your family does? Touching and taking things that aren't yours?"

I flinch slightly. "I'm not like my mother."

"I'll bet," she says, finally choosing a book and sitting down in one of the chairs to read it.

I swallow the bitter taste in my mouth and turn around in my chair to watch the door of the car, waiting for our mentor to come.

About five minutes later, the door slides open and Demeter Newlin comes in, walking across the room to sit across the table from me. "Hi!"

"Hi," I reply. Blossam doesn't pay attention, she just keeps reading her book. Guess it's good.

"You're Joe McDonald, right? And you're Blossam Collins?"

I nod for both of us.

"Good, good, good, good, good. Alright, so what do you want to start with? Training? The interviews? Start of the Games? Shelter? Weapons? What?"

"Um... Training, please."

It turns out that Demeter has a really short attention span, because a minute later he's running around the car gathering cushions to demonstrate how to build a shelter. I watch him, grinning. A minute later, he's tossing me apples from a bowl on the table and telling me how to tell if the Gamemakers put something in them or not. Apparently they do that sometimes. A minute later still, he's showing me how to throw a knife. I almost hit a glass jar filled with wine, but Demeter says I've got a natural talent for it. I don't know how he can tell, since I only did one throw, but he is the victor. Another minute later, he's showing me how different things can be used to carry water.

Blossam glances up once or twice, confused, but other than that she just keeps reading. I think she thinks that Demeter's a little weird. I think he's cool and his tips will definitely come in handy.

**Jaime's POV**

Oh my gosh, look at all the food! I sit down at the table as soon as Cole and I get on the train and immediately start piling stuff up on my plate. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pig, but if you grow up in the streets like I did, you'll appreciate any food that comes your way, and, more importantly than that, you'll _eat_ any food that comes your way.

Cole sits down beside me and grabs a bun from a basket and nibbles at the edge of it. I hope he doesn't think I'm rude for stuffing my face.

I keep eating, not looking up, just focusing on the food on my plate. Even though it comes in different colours, it's the most delicious food I've ever had. There's even mashed potatoes! Rich, creamy, fluffy, and pure white. They're perfect. I've got about half my plate covered with their perfection.

I'm faintly aware of Cole talking to someone. When I glance up I meet the amused blue eyes of our mentor, Farah Jackson. I give him a quick wave before returning to my delicious mashed potatoes.

Cole and Farah keeps talking while I eat. I think they said "berries" "moose"(or was it "goose"?) and "cheese." By the way, the cheese on the train is _delicious. _There's probably a thousand different kinds and each one tastes more amazing than the last one!

A silver-coloured plate clings against my china one and I look up. Farah's pushed the aforementioned plate towards me and is now gesturing at it in a way that says _Help yourself. _The plate is covered in brown squares. They look creamy and delicious. I pick up a piece and it leaves a slight brown mark on my fingers as I pop it in my mouth, as if the warmth from my hands starts melting it instantly. The taste itself is even more amazing than the rest of the food- warm and sweet and rich but not too rich.

"It's chocolate," Farah says. "The Capitol is a huge fan of it."

"It's good," I say, reaching for a second piece.

Cole takes a piece as well. "Is the plate really silver?"

Farah nods. "Made in District One and exported to the Capitol."

"Neat."

I continue to eat the chocolate as Cole and Farah continue to talk, making sure that they get their fair share as well, despite how much I would love to just eat it all myself. I know that would be greedy. I may've been on my own for the past five years, but I still know the basic rules of society. Even though I break them sometimes.

Farah and Cole don't seem to mind too much that I'm spending all my time eating and not discussing strategy. I'm still listening. Sometimes. Oh well. We've still got all the time in the Capitol. No point in worrying about next week yet, right?

**Before I give you the question and new scores, I'm letting you know that from this chapter on, you'll get 5 points for each of my other stories you review, not 10. Sorry, 10 made some of you guys shoot up WAY too fast.**

**Question: Out of all the tributes, who is your ONE favourite?**

**Celtic- 53**

**Dreamer- 37**

**Kate- 47**

**Mex- 53**

**iWolfy- 14**

**Dolphin4444wssc- 6**


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